In 2009 John Zenger and Joseph Folkman of Provant Inc, the world’s largest performance skills company published their latest version of the book, ‘The Extraordinary Leader’. They looked at 360-degree feedback data on 26,314 leaders in hundreds of companies. These are the 20 things they found when looking at how to best develop leadership capacity in any business:

  1. Great leaders (In the top 10% of performers) make a HUGE difference when compared to good leaders
  2. One business can have many great leaders
  3. The aim is to get people to become outstanding leaders rather than merely competent
  4. 360-degree feedback is the most effective way of getting accurate information on the behaviour of leaders, with the view of team members being valued the most
  5. The highest expression of leadership involves change and the highest expression of change is guiding an organisation through a new strategic direction or culture change
  6. If people want to become great leaders they need to know what are the competencies that will really make the difference in their organisation
  7. Leadership competencies are not discreet but linked to each other
  8. Effective leaders have widely differing personal styles
  9. For an organisation to have exceptional leadership ability it needs to assemble the right team with ample diversity and talent to maximize the collective influence of the team
  10. Effective leadership practices are specific to an organisation
  11. The key to developing leadership is to build strengths and to have as many strengths as possible despite weaknesses
  12. Five strengths out of the sixteen catapults a leader into the top 10% of leaders nationally with these strengths being evenly distributed through five clusters
  13. Greatness is not caused by the absence of weakness
  14. Fatal flaws must be fixed, particularly when character is involved
  15. Competencies are not the reality but the perceptions of others about a leader
  16. Leaders who figure out ways for their colleagues to discover for themselves how important something is, or to have colleagues work out for themselves the best way of doing something, are described by colleagues as the most motivational or inspirational
  17. The process of setting stretch goals is motivating and inspiring
  18. Leaders are made, not born
  19. Leaders can improve their leadership effectiveness through self-development
  20. The overall quality of leadership within an organisation seldom exceeds that of the person at the top.

The work of Zenger and Folkman remains massively influential in guiding businesses towards becoming stronger and better. To find out more about how you can integrate these leadership ideas into your business click on the link below to book a ten minute call.

https://calendly.com/actioncoachmelton